The Journey
by vinscent13
Summary: Persona Novelization, with a few extra things. Taking creative liberties after the first few chapters.
1. The Beginning

**Chapter 1: The Beginning**

**Monday, April 6th 2008**

_A train comes speeding towards the Iwatodai station guiding a young man to a great turning point in his life._

"I wonder what this dorm will be like…" I thought to myself as the train started to approach the station landing. As the doors slid open and I stepped out, the clock outside

struck midnight. "Huh?" was the first thing to cross my mind as the clocked stopped ticking and my music player stopped working. "The battery dies now? It's going to be a

long walk…" Continuing to walk I noticed all the lights were off and the streets were lined with standing coffins. The moonlight cascaded the city in a green ominous light

making everything more creepy than it normally would be just walking the streets at night. A scream of pain and terror filled the silent air filling me with fear. Looking at the

directions I was given and the street signs I rushed to the dormitory. Reaching the front door I felt a sense of relief and dread, but only to disappear when opening the front

door.

* * *

"Ah, you're late." A voice rang in the empty hall as I took off my headphones. The green light from the moon no longer emanated here and I felt at ease. I looked towards

where the voice came from only to see a young boy standing at the counter. "If you wish to proceed, you must sign this contract." The young boy opened a folder with a

single piece of paper inside. "Don't worry." The boy chuckled. "All it says is that you'll accept full responsibilities for your actions… You know the usual stuff." I picked up the

quill by the paper almost by automation and signed my name. The boy picked up the folder and held it close as he said "No one can escape time, it delivers us to the same

end. You can't plug your ears and cover your eyes" He turned the folder around and it disappeared from his hand. The lighting from the room began to fade as the green light

consumed all and the shadows from the room crept up on the boy. "And so it begins" The boy said as the shadow fully enveloped him. "What the hell did I just see…" I

thought to myself. "Who's there?!" I turned to face the voice that echoed in the room. I saw the shadowy figure of a girl. She began to breathe heavily as she reached for

what looked to be a gun strapped to her thigh. "W-wait a second!" is what I wanted to say before another voice rang from behind the girl "Takeba, wait!" The shadowy figure

turned around to face the voice. As she turned all the lights came back on and my music could be heard from the headphones I had taken off. I stood there tapping my MP3

player wondering how it turned itself back on. "Ahem!" The redheaded girl called for my attention "My name is Mitsuru Kirijou." I bowed weakly still confused at what was

going on. The girl in front of her started to whisper loudly "Is it okay for him to be here?" Mitsuru smiled and nodded replying "We will see…" I stood there still confused and

tired as the two carried on a small conversation about me while I was standing there. "Anyways, This is Yukari Takeba. She'll be a junior in the spring just like you." Mitsuru

said looking at the girl in front of her ignoring the fact that I heard everything they said. The girl bowed saying "I'm Takeba." I could feel the piercing gaze from her eyes and

knew then that she didn't like me very much at all. "N-Nice to meet you, my name is Minato. Minato Arisato." The girl immediately lit up like she did something wrong "Sorry!

I didn't mean to be so cold." An awkward silence took place in the air between us. "You must be tired. Yukari, show Minato to his room." Yukari turned quickly to face Mitsuru

who was already leaving "H-hey, why can't you…" She sighed realizing that she couldn't ignore the delegated order. "Come with me then…" I followed a slightly distraught

Yukari up the stairs to the second floor. She was actually pretty cute. "This is your room, second floor at the end." She opened the door and switched on the desk lamp which

dimly lit the room. "So… Do you have any questions?" I set my stuff on the floor besides the bed and sat down. "No, not really" I was really tired at this point, I didn't want to

prolong my being awake any longer. "Then do you mind if I ask you a question?" I looked towards her and nodded, not feeling the will to speak. "On the way from the

station… Was everything normal?" I thought back to the coffins and the eerie green light flowing from the moon "Well… Nothing too unusual." Yukari smiled and turned away

to walk out the door. "I'm sure you have questions, but those can wait for another time." She said as she closed the door. I flopped down on my bed thinking to myself.

"You've got to be joking, of course I have questions." I kept thinking about the gun she had and the young boy with the contract. What was this all about? "What a weird

place." I thought to myself as I started falling asleep


	2. The First Day of School

**Chapter 2:The First Day of School**

**Tuesday, April 7th 2008**

_Minato wakes up in his room early the next day to the sound of knocking on the door, today was the first day of school_

"Can I come in?" A familiar voice followed the knocking. "Ugh…" I thought to myself. The sunlight filled the room and burned my eyes as I sat up in my bed not making much of a sound hoping maybe I could get a little more sleep. "Come on, if you don't get up now you'll be late to school." I stood up and started to walk over to the door to open it. As I was about to grab the door knob, the door came flying open knocking me across the face and sending me to the ground. Yukari walked into the room and looked down at me in surprise. "S-sorry! I didn't mean to hit you!" Dazed and confused I held my head in pain. Sitting on the floor gave me some time to look at Yukari. She was wearing a pink cardigan and had a black miniskirt. Her short brown hair shimmered in the sunlight and her dark brown eyes looked down at me. "You really like the color pink don't you?" Yukari's face began to glow red as she tugged at her skirt and little "Y-you perv, get up and get dressed we have to get to school!" I got up quickly and shut the door, almost on her face to get dressed.

_After getting dressed Minato and Yukari had to spend a long and awkward train ride to school._

"You know…" I tried to tell her that I hadn't looked up her skirt or anything, but she cut me off saying "I don't want to hear it, but listen. Don't tell anyone what you saw last night." Before I knew it we were already entering school grounds. This was Gekkoukan high school. "The faculty office is over there. I have some things to do before school starts, I trust that you can find your way around." She quickly turned and left. As she did the awkward tension in the air left with her, but was soon replaced by the awkward feeling of knowing no one in this new school. The school didn't look very big so I sighed in relief that there was no possible way to get lost. I walked down the left corridor and saw a small plaque off the side of the door that read "faculty office" I looked at the door and felt an aura that seemed almost hostile. "Do I really wanna go in there…?" The door slid open really fast and something collided with me, the next thing I knew I was on the ground. "Today just really isn't my day…" looking across from me I saw someone in a similar predicament. She got up and patted herself down for dust. "You there. You're the transfer student right?" I got up and simply nodded, not sure whether I should say something of importance. "You're homeroom is 2-F with me." The bell began to ring and an announcement was made "All students and faculty report to the auditorium for the opening ceremony." The teacher seemed to get flustered as she picked me up by the hand and rushed us to the auditorium. The principal spoke for a while, but if anyone asked me to give the gist of what he said, I wouldn't be able to say because I fell asleep through the whole thing.

_Minato slept through his classes and until homeroom started._

I was still not fully aware that class was over until someone got my attention. "Sup, transfer student?" His loud and abrupt voice brought me to realize the world around me. "W-what?!" I almost fell out of my chair, but managed to balance myself out before that. Looking at the person who called my attention he noticed my gaze and began to talk. "My name is Junpei Iori!" I gazed at him uninterested and he just kept talking "I'm a transfer student too! OR I was. I came here when I was in 8th grade. I thought it'd be tough just transferring so I'm just here to say 'Hi!' see ain't I a nice guy?" I couldn't understand how this guy could run his mouth for so long. The door to the classroom slid open as Yukari walked in and looked at Junpei "Don't you think that you might be bothering people sometimes?" She came over and stood with her arms behind her back. It made me think that she was coming for revenge. "Oh hey, I didn't know you were in this homeroom too." I felt a little hurt that she didn't notice me once she walked in the room but her soft smile made that pain go away. "I didn't think that you'd be happy to see my face more often." Junpei hopped in between us and said "So… I heard you two walked into school together, what's one of the most popular girl's in school doing with the new kid?" Her face began to glow a light shade of red as she tried to reply hastily "D-don't get any ideas! We just live in the same dorm is all!" Junpei sighed the sigh you'd hear from a disappointed teenager as he walked over to the other kids in the class and confirmed that the rumors were false. As I turned around to face Yukari she had come a lot closer and put her hands on my desk. "Do you have a second?" I felt a little warm in my face, I didn't know that she was cute and popular. Maybe she was out of my league. "Uh, Sure. What's up Yukari?" She leaned over close to my ear and whispered "You didn't tell anyone about last night did you?" I froze up a little feeling her warm breath on my ear, but I felt something was wrong. From close to my other ear I heard "L-last night…" Junpei moved in front of me and slammed his hands on the desk "Dude, you have to tell me what happened!" I felt the embarrassment fill up in Yukari as she shouted "Get your mind out of the gutter!"

_The day continued and was rather uneventful until Minato arrived at the dormitory that evening._


	3. An Eventful Day

**Chapter 3: An Eventful Day**

_A lost and confused Minato searches for his way home and is greeted by a mysterious guest that long awaited his arrival._

I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the city, trying to find the dormitory, Luckily before the sun fully set I found the entrance to the dorm. "Finally home…" I sighed and pushed the doors open. The chandelier lit up the resting area where my classmates sit. A strange man stood up and greeted me. "So you're the transfer student correct? Come have a seat." I walked over to one of the long couches and sat on the far end. Mitsuru sat across from me sliding a small cup of tea from her side of the table to mine. I felt nervous "Why was she giving me a cup of tea?" I thought to myself. Were they lulling me into a sense of security? "My name is Ikutsuki Shuji, I'm the chairman of the board." The man said. I picked up the tea and began to drink it. it tasted like green tea with a lot of salt, I felt like I needed to spit it out. "So, I just wanted to welcome you here and ask you if you had any questions." The tea still resting on my overstimulated tongue kept me from replying to him. Yukari came down the stairs and greeted Ikutsuki and Mitsuru, sitting down on the opposite side of the couch. I felt like the tea was solidifying into pure salt in my mouth, but I had to be polite. "He sure is a quiet one, there's no need to be shy!" Ikutsuki said. I had to make a decision and fast. Yukari looked at me and the teacup I was holding noticing that the only other one drinking tea was Mitsuru. After double taking she scooted closer and whispered "Doesn't taste good, huh? Just spit it back into the cup." Slightly shocked I noticeably spit the tea back into the cup. Gasping for air I replied "No… I don't have… any questions" Yukari and Mitsuru shared a laugh at my expense. "I hope this makes up for this morning" I could tell this was something of a setup seeing as they just laughed even more. "Good to hear, I'll be taking my leave then" Ikutsuki stood up and began to walk out. "You should go to bed early, after all 'the early bird catches the bookworm'" I stood there confused as Ikutsuki walked out of the dormitory. Once the door closed I bolted for the kitchen to search for anything and I mean ANYTHING that could wash this taste out of my mouth. The girls bursted into laughter again, however I didn't feel too well. I grabbed the first can of soda I could get my hands on and chugged it down feeling the burn go down my throat. "Oh come on, it wasn't that bad!" Yukari was standing at the entrance of the kitchen leaning over on the doorway. I looked over her way while hunched on the door of the fridge. "What I did wasn't even that bad! I didn't even look up your skirt!" she simply chuckled at my weakened state and walked back to the couch. I felt that this made us even though, cause maybe I did catch a glimpse at what lie hidden from plain sight. Walking out of the kitchen I felt a rush of blood flow to my head and I felt weak. "I'm going to go ahead and go to sleep… I'll see you guys tomorrow…" I stumbled my way up the stairs, but heard something before I got out of earshot from the girls. "Geez, I hope he's okay…" Yukari actually sounded like she felt bad about what had happened. "Don't worry Takeba, I'm sure he's fine." I felt a little better knowing that Yukari cared somewhat. I entered my room and collapsed on my bed feeling too tired to switch into pajamas.

_The darkness that is sleep quickly changed to a door rushing closer to Minato._

"Welcome to the velvet room" a voice said in the ambiently lit room. Looking around I thought that I had been kidnapped. "Where am I?!" The man sitting across from me had an abnormally long nose and an interesting girl standing by him. The man chuckled and said "Don't worry, this world isn't real. At least not as real to you as your world." I relaxed a little, Maybe this was some strange salt induced dream. "So then why am I here?" the man shifted in his seat and the girl stood as still as a statue watching intently. "Here take this, we'll have more time to talk the next time you come here." A bright light blinded me and as it dimmed something called me to reach out towards it. A key fell into my hand and I felt lightheaded as blackness took my vision.

**Wednesday, April 8th 2008**

_The morning began kind of similar to the last and the day continued just the same. Minato slept through class and was awoken by a nosy Junpei._

"So dude…" Junpei came up close and quietly as he said "What happened between you and Yukari the other night?" I could tell that he needed some food for thought, but I wasn't sure what kind of story to spin for him. "Well… " I told him that when arriving at the dormitory the night I came, that I heard mysterious talking, it was a talk between two of dorm mates and they were discussing lewd topics. I actually got so caught up in the story that I didn't notice that Yukari walked into the classroom "What's all this about the other night?!" Junpei and I froze, I felt a familiar salty taste wash over my still scarred taste buds. "U-uh, I'll see ya Minato!" Junpei bolted through the class door leaving me alone with the condescending gaze from Yukari's eyes. "I-it's not what you think!" She simply slammed her hands down on my desk and looked me dead in the eyes. I swear my heart stopped, not only from fear but her face came so close that I felt kind of embarrassed. "I'll make it up to you! Meet up with me after school today and I'll buy you something to eat." Immediately after saying this I got flustered "What did I just say…" I thought to myself, She is the most popular girl in school why would she ruin her reputation to spend time with the new transfer student… "Sure, let's meet by the shoe lockers after school." I mean I have absolutely no redeeming fa… "Wait what?" Yukari giggled at the confused face I had "Well, I should get to know the only person my age in the dorm." I felt a bright smile creep upon my face, even if it wasn't a date, it certainly was a start.

_Minato actually stood up the entire day at school, the anticipation gave him the energy to make it through until the final bell._

I tried to play it cool by walking up to the shoe lockers acting like I wasn't too interested. "You look more tired than usual Minato, Maybe we should take a rain check?" Yukari said seeing through my facade. "S-sorry! I'm okay, honestly" Yukari simply smiled at my reply. Maybe she did want to get to know me… "Soooo, where are you taking me Minato?" I thought about how much money I actually had to my name and where I could go so I wouldn't have to lose my name. I remember overhearing two students talking about a place called hagakure down on the Iwatodai strip mall and that you could impress people by ordering from the secret menu. "Let's go to Hagakure ramen." I felt sort of deterred from doing this because as I walked and talked with Yukari every student within sight was staring intently as if they wanted me to disappear. Passing by the school gates that stress faded and I felt like I could talk more comfortably with Yukari.

_The walk to the train station remained uneventful besides the friendly banter between Minato and his new found friend Yukari._

We arrived at the station and waited on by the tracks for the train to arrive "You know I think we got off on the wrong foot, Minato" I felt a bit relieved because I didn't want to go down as the guy who is a huge perv or anything in her book. "Yeah, I didn't mean to do anything wrong and besides you did push me down to the ground that day." She chuckled and gave me a playfully mean look "Don't push your luck now!" Her smile was an amazing thing, I felt a little humbled being able to gaze at such an amazing sight. The train started it's approach to the landing platform signaled by the blinking of lights and the sound of the horn. "Let's go!" Yukari stepped through the open doors onto the train and I followed suit. Surprisingly I didn't think about taking the train to the strip mall, Yukari was the one who said it was faster. "Man… Yesterday I was looking far and wide for the dorm and this train takes us straight to that side of the area…" I sighed in disappointment that I wasn't smart enough to think of riding the train. The train was empty and I felt like maybe I was coming down with some sort of fever. Yukari was facing the window peering out at the sun reflecting it's scarlet tint off the ocean. The way she just stared out there as if something awaited her on the other side of the window. "Hey, Yukari…" I sought to gain that attention, I felt jealous of the scenery at that time. To be able to beguile her was all I wanted at the moment. "What's up Minato?" I felt like I gained the courage to say what I wanted to say at the moment, even if it wasn't too risky. "U-um, well… The way the sun radiates through the window and onto you… It's beautiful." This was the first time I noticed the cute white choker she wore around her neck that was accented with a heart. I saw her face glowed a faint red which was masked by the ambient light as she looked away from me and back at the horizon. "W-well, thank you Minato" Silence began to fill the train car, but it wasn't heavy, in fact it felt like maybe we were both thinking of something. "The train is now approaching Iwatodai station" The silence was broken by a robotic voice and we were brought back to the fact that I was taking her to Hagakure. The train began to decelerate and eventually come to a stop. The doors of the train opened and new passengers began to fill in the void of the once empty car making it hard to leave. "Man, I didn't think that many people would board…" I sighed with relief that the tidal wave of passengers was over and I stood victorious on the platform. "Yeah… Well we should get going before it gets too dark." Yukari said with a smile on her face.

_The two made their way to the Iwatodai strip mall as the sun was almost done setting out of sight. Hagakure was within their view_

"You know, all that walking really worked up my appetite!" I said as I slid the door to Hagakure open and stepped inside. As I took a seat by the counter the aroma of ramen filled the air. Yukari took a seat next to me after sliding the door back closed. "We barely even walked!" She said with a slight tinge of disbelief. I didn't want to go all out and eat because I could eat more than the chef could cook. I especially didn't want to look like a slob in front of her. "Hmm… What should I get…" Yukari sat there looking at the menu intently. I thought this could be my chance to impress her by ordering from the secret menu. "I'd like a Hagakure bowl please." The chef turned around and gave me a look that made me feel like I said something wrong. "I'm sorry sir, but I don't know what you're talking about." I felt extremely embarrassed at this point, I was so sure that it was an item on the secret menu. I quickly glanced at the menu to try and play off like I read something wrong. "Uh… On second thought I'll take a guren bowl!" I heard Yukari giggling as the chef began to prepare my order. "I'll just get some ramen with pork and extra noodles" I felt that fever coming on again as Yukari turned to face me. "You know, the secret menu items are for VIP's only and this seems to be the first time you've come here" I felt like I was going to pass out from how embarrassed I was. "S-sorry, it was just something I heard someone talk about in school so I thought I'd try some" Yukari set her hands in her lap and I could tell she was trying to conceal a laugh. The chef placed down both of our orders side by side and went back to cooking. I began to eat to try and make myself feel better. "Smooth man… Real smooth…" I thought to myself, but my thought was interrupted when Yukari started to choke and cough. "Y-Yukari?! Are you okay?!" She quickly got up and ran to the bathroom. I heard the faucet run at full blast almost the moment she ran in. The chef turned around during all the commotion and began to laugh hysterically. "What's so funny?" I replied feeling a little bugged that this guy was laughing at her. "Well it looks like I gave her the guren bowl by accident." I gave him a confused look as I didn't really understand the significance. "What's wrong with that?" He looked at me kind of shocked. "The guren bowl is our spiciest dish on the menu! Are you telling me you ordered that without knowing?!" Yukari came out of the bathroom with a look of distraught. The defeated Yukari sat back down the chef told us he'd make her another bowl of her original order and that it was on the house. After eating our food I could tell that Yukari was a bit embarrassed by the commotion she had made. "I was really looking forward to seeing your reaction to the guren bowl… Karma sucks…" I gave her a mischievous smirk "Well at least the meal is free!" I tried to give her something that would bring her solace, but to no avail. Yukari opened up her phone and looked at the time "We should probably get home." I nodded in agreement.

_The two of them shared a light conversation as they walked from Iwatodai strip mall back to the dorms making little to no stops._

"Finally home!" Yukari said as she walked over to the stools at the far end of the living area, near the kitchen. I followed her over there and sat next to her. "Thanks for the fun day today!" I felt the gratitude from her words as if she hadn't done anything like this before. "You don't need to thank me, besides I'm sure you have done that with your other friends plenty of times so it's nothing new." It felt pretty good being thanked by Yukari rather than being punished. "Well it's nice not being lied to and dragged into group dates or having a friend thing turn into a confession of love." She said sounding as if those days were full of regret. "Man… She really is popular with the guys…" I felt a little funny, kind of sick even. "Are you okay? maybe you should go to bed early today…" If I looked how I felt then I didn't want to worry Yukari. "I'll take you up on that offer, let's do this again sometime…" My head got light and I blacked out. "Minato?! Hey, Minato!" I was completely disconnected from reality, I could feel someone pick me up and bring me up the stairs. "Here, you rest up." I was set down on my bed by Yukari. I opened my eyes and meant to thank her, but she had already left. I thought about the day that passed and felt warm inside. "I called her beautiful huh…" I slammed a pillow over my face. I just got here and I felt like things were going to be great. Or so I thought.


	4. The Dark Hour

**Chapter 4: The Dark Hour**

_Minato slept peacefully after recapping the days flustering events until a loud rumble shook the building and disturbed him from his slumber._

"Huh?!" I sat up in my bed quickly and looked around for the loud sound. The eerie green light from the other night poured through the window. "It's a full moon tonight…" I started to get comfortable on my bed again, but all of a sudden I heard quick steps running up the stairs and approach my door. "My Pajamas!" I had these Jack Frost pajamas with a hat that were a bit embarrassing so I tried to quickly change. "I'm coming in!" An all too common voice said from outside the door. I felt my heart stop as the door began to open. "W-wait!" I was only down to my boxers and the jack frost hat now and Yukari was about to see it all. Yukari and I stood locked in an awkward gaze both of our faces red with embarrassment. "S-sorry!" Yukari spun around which broke the tension slightly. "Hurry up and grab clothes we need to move quickly!" I didn't ask why because I was still embarrassed that she saw me in my boxers, but it was better than those Jack Frost pajamas.

I quickly got dressed in my school uniform as it was the closest thing to clothes that I had near me. I tapped Yukari on the shoulder to let her know she could turn around now. I still felt the awkward tension as she turned to face me, but made no eye contact "Here take this…" As she turned around the hilt of a small blade stuck from her hand. "A sword?! What's going on?!" I was concerned, why would she hand me a weapon? "I'll explain later right now we need to run out the back door!" She began to run down the stairs as I followed behind. From outside I could hear the voices from the two other people that lived in the dorm. "H-hey, shouldn't we go help them?" As we approached the back door something large hit it, almost knocking it off it's hinges. "We can't help them if we get killed! Come on!" Yukari immediately turned around and ran back up the stairs. I continued to follow, thoroughly confused at this point.

I heard the door bust open as we reached the second floor. I pulled on Yukari's sleeve to stop her. "What's going on here, you can't leave me in the dark!" Yukari turned to face me, she had a look of fear "Listen…" She stopped in her tracks. "What's wro-..?!" Before I could finish my sentence she grabbed my hand and continued to run. I turned my head to look behind us as we approached the roof level and saw something that struck fear in my heart. A manifestation of pure darkness. "What is that thing?!" I shouted as Yukari began to punch the numbers on the keypad to unlock the roof door. The door swung open and we both bolted through it. I shut it behind us and pressed my back against it as whatever was following us tried busting through the door. "Yukari, what the hell are you hiding from me?!" I looked up at her for answers. "Look, there's something between one day and the next. it's called the dark hour and that's when these… things come out." I wanted to reply, but was cut off by a loud stamping coming from the far end of the building.

Yukari turned to face the sound and gasped in fear. I looked over and saw a giant manifestation that held swords in each of it's hands. "Yukari, look out!" She quickly pulled out the same gun from the other night and pressed it against her forehead. "Y-Yukari?!" The monster began to approach her with speed that I had never seen before. It was going to kill her! I had to make a decision now… "Yukari look out!" I pulled the blade she gave me out of it's sheath and threw the sheath away, running as fast as I could to block the incoming blade. I felt the adrenaline surging through my body as it's blade hit mine and slid off. "Minato?!" I managed to block one of it's blades, but another came and slashed Yukari in the arm. "Yukari! Are you okay?!" Her gun lie at my feet while she was out of reach for me to help.

The monster backed up as if readying itself to charge again. "This gun…" I picked up the gun that Yukari dropped and I could feel a worrying stare coming from Yukari. "I have to protect my friend!" I began to take aim at the monster that began it's approach when time seemed to slow down. "Can… you do it?" I saw the little boy from the other day pointing his finger against his head like a gun. I felt like he was trying to tell me something. My mind got cloudy and a voice began to ring in my head. I gathered all my courage and pointed the gun at my head. "Per..." it didn't make sense what was going on. "So..." but I had only one goal at this time even if it cost my life "na!" I pulled the trigger and felt something emerge from me.

The shadow was hesitating now as a voice rang through the air. "Thou art I, and I art thou. I am the instrumentalist of mysteries. I am Orpheus." The monster began to charge at me reaching full speed in only a moment. I felt something deep inside of me trying to rip out. I let out a shout of pain as the being from inside of me was ripped apart and a new being was released from within. It let out a screech as it flew at the monster with lightning speed and tore it apart. I fell to my knees feeling exhausted watching the being destroy the monsters that seemed to come with no signs of stopping. The door from behind was rushed open as more smaller monsters came through rushing to the incapacitated Yukari. "I can't sit here and do nothing…" I thought to myself.

I stood up and faced all the small fragments of the now torn apart monster. I felt the power inside of me die down as the being disappeared from sight. "ORPHEUS!" I put the gun up against my head and pulled the trigger again. I felt even more exhausted than the first time I called for it's help. The instrumentalist played a vivacious tune and I watched all the monsters get engulfed in flames as I fell over to the ground. Darkness was all I could see and the faint echo of shouting in the distance. Was I going to die? A familiar door came into view and before I knew it I was in the velvet room. "Ah, our most honored guest has arrived." The man with the long nose was conversing with his silent assistant.

"Please excuse my manners. My name is Igor. This is my assistant Elizabeth." the girl turned to face me and bowed "I'm pleased to make your acquaintance." I looked at her and was met with a semi blank stare. "U-um, pleased to meet you as well." Igor seemed to call a familiar folder from the darkness and flipped it open. "Please, remember that you must accept responsibility for the actions you make over the course of this upcoming year." I thought back to why that seemed familiar. It was the same contract I signed on the first day I arrived at the dormitory. "How did you…?" Igor flipped it closed and it disappeared. "You'll need our services, but until then hold onto that key." I was still a little confused about this place because last I remember I was on the roof of the dorm. "H-hey, wait! Is Yukari- er I mean, Is everybody okay?!" I felt a little embarrassed that I blurted that out. Igor changed sitting positions "Well, we shouldn't keep you here much longer so you can find out." I felt lightheaded again and the darkness engulfed my vision.


	5. Awaiting His Awakening

**Chapter 4.5:Awaiting His Awakening**

**Monday, April 13th 2008**

_Yukari sits in the hospital next to a bed occupied by an incapacitated Minato_

"Come on, Minato how long do you need to sleep…" It's been four days since he saved me on the roof of the dormitory. "How could you pull the trigger the first time…?" I felt weak because Mitsuru told me that if anything were to happen, I was supposed to protect him. But he ended up protecting me. The door opened and Mitsuru walked in. "Takeba, I know you're worried, but we need to go to school." I stood up and walked over to leave the room. I looked back for a moment and continued on to school. The train seemed emptier and more boring than usual without Minato keeping me company. "Hey, isn't that Yukari? Didn't she go somewhere with that new kid? What do you think happened?"

Several voices went on and on about Minato and I leaving the school together, I sighed "Maybe I shouldn't have went with him… Then again it was pretty fun…" I found myself regretting it more and more as students talked behind my back. "Maybe that's why Minato always has headphones on…" I remembered that I was holding onto his stuff that day because he forgot his bag at school. I searched my bag and found his headphones still there. "I have to give these back to him... " I put the headphones on and looked at the small little MP3 player that Minato always had dangling from his neck and pressed the play button.

The music started from where he last left off. "I will burn my dread..." I found myself singing along to the song. Before I knew it the train had come to a stop and I began my walk to the school. Listening to the music on the way there eliminated the stress, was this how Minato kept his sanity around all the talk of students? "Hey, Yuka-tan!" I realized that I was already at school and Junpei was trying to get my attention. "Oh, hey Junpei." I took off one of the headphones to hear him better. "Is Minato out again today? He just got here and he misses so much school." I thought back to the night that he saved me. He protected me from that giant shadow if I hadn't hesitated… "Hey, aren't those Minato's headphones and MP3 player?" I felt kind of embarrassed, if I didn't make up an excuse Junpei would get the wrong idea and spread rumors.

"W-well, he lent me them to use since he hasn't been to school in a while." Junpei had kind of a shocked look on his face "S-so, you two are like that already huh?" Junpei seemed a bit disappointed at the thought "N-no! It's nothing like that!" I felt the blood rushing to my face as the prospect entered my mind. "There is no way that I'd date a loser like Minato!" Feeling the stares of all the students around me, I realized that I shouted that out for everyone to hear. I didn't want to feel like this anymore so I just blocked it all out by putting the other headphone back in only hearing a faint "Ouch" pass through Junpei's lips as I continued on through the day.

_Yukari continued on her day seething, the anger that Junpei caused because of high school students and their misunderstanding until archery practice_

"Stupei… Making me shout things I don't mean…" I was nocking arrows faster than usual and I felt the other club members piercing stares. "She's hitting bullseye's on every shot… How is she doing that… What anger…" Everyone was talking behind my back again, I just wanted it to stop. I set my practice bow down and reached in my bag again for the headphones. When I put the headphones on once again and pressed the play button, but instead of hearing the encapsulating music I heard a mysterious voice. "You can't just close your eyes and cover your ears." Shocked I dropped the headphones back in the bag and looked around. "Minato?!" I saw a shadow bolt out of the archery range. I felt like I had to chase after it so I went with my gut.

"Yukari?! Where are you going?!" I heard the sounds of the other club members calling out to me fade away as I seemed to run farther and farther. When did he wake up? Why was I not told about it? How did he get so close without me noticing? All these questions ran through my head as I chased after what I thought was Minato. I followed it all the way to the roof, but found no one. Was I going crazy? Was it all the students talking behind my back that got me so on edge? "So, here's Yukari and her secret lover Minato!" The door to the roof bust open and Junpei was leading a crowd of students interested in the rumors of me and Minato. I looked at all them and said "Minato and I are not a thing" I felt stronger somehow as I marched through the crowd of stupid students. "That means I have a chance of getting with her!" Several of the male students made comments like that. "How irritating…" I left the building after that and didn't look back, Junpei would get his soon enough. I walked over to the train station and thought to myself. "Maybe I'll go visit the hospital for a little bit before I go home."

_The train shot through the rails as Yukari looked to the horizon in hopes that sometime Minato would awaken._


	6. His Awakening

**Chapter 5: His Awakening**

**Friday, April 17th 2008**

_**The hospital room was empty and quiet besides a sleeping Minato and Yukari hoping that today would be the day that Minato would awaken.**_

I felt like I was waking up from a long sleep as I opened my eyes. The bright light in this bright white room was blinding. "Oh my god… Am I dead?!" I said in surprise at the sight I saw. A light laughter filled the room. I turned to where the voice was and saw Yukari. "Man, I must really be in heaven…" Yukari's face turned a little red at the remark. "N-no, you're at the hospital Minato. Seriously, how long can you sleep for?" I began to prop myself up on a pillow so I wasn't laying down anymore. "How long have I been asleep?" I was curious about all sorts of things at this moment, but for now I would settle on an answer to how long I was here. "It's been over a week now." A whole week, I spent here. Memories of what happened flooded back into my mind. All the monsters, the being from inside me, and Yukari getting cut on the arm."Y-your arm!" Yukari looked at me confusingly until she realized what I had meant. "It's fine, it healed up nicely with no scarring." She lifted up the sleeve of her cardigan to show me where the cut had been. Her skin was smooth and flawless. I sighed in relief.

"You know…" Yukari said hesitantly "I'm sorry letting myself get taken down like that… I was supposed to protect you, but in the end you protected me… Thank you." I was glad that she was safe, I didn't want to lose my new friend. I smiled at her to give her an idea of how relieved I was that she was safe. "So… What happened back there? With the monsters and the being that protected us?" Yukari leaned over and covered my mouth as the door to the room was opened and a doctor came in. "Oh good! You're finally awake. I'll be back later to perform a standard check up." Yukari sighed in relief. "You'll learn about what happened later, I promise." I sighed in discontent at these words, I hated being left in the dark. A thought crossed my mind as Yukari sat there smiling at me, obviously relieved that I had finally woke up. "Why are you here?" A brief silence filled the room as she took a moment to reply. "Well, it didn't feel right to just leave you… You did save my life." She seemed to get embarrassed as she said those words.

"If we're being honest here… I've never fought those monsters before, so I was afraid…" She looked down at the floor as she finished her sentence. "Hey, I'm alright and you're safe. That's what matters." She looked back up at me and smiled at my words. "Thanks for being optimistic for me." I looked at the clock and saw that it was already an hour after school usually starts. "Hey Yukari, you're late for class." She didn't seem like she cared about what I had said and she took a deep breath. "I know, I wanted to be here when you woke up to tell you that… I've already learned just about any background information on you and that… You and I are alike. I lost my dad an explosion years ago. Since then my mother and I have never been the same." Admittedly, I was confused. How did she know so much about me and why did she tell me now? "Well… I have to go let everyone know that you've woken up. I'll let the doctor know you're ready for your check-up too. I'll see you later!" Without another word, she rushed out of the room and I was alone. I looked out of the window and towards the horizon. "What a waste of such a beautiful day…"

_Much to Minato's displeasure the day was wasted indoors as Mitsuru kept him inside of the dorm after his release._

"Mitsuru, that is so unfair…" I sat on the couch of the living room with Mitsuru sitting across from me and Akihiko beside me. "Well, maybe if you had woken up earlier than you could've had the day to yourself." Akihiko laughed at my misfortune. "Well maybe if you had trained more, you would've been more prepared!" I glared at Akihiko and started to lean over to whisper to him "Do you wanna fight? I still got plenty of energy." Akihiko's gaze met with mine and a strong spark lit a flame in both of our eyes. "I'm always up for a good sparring." Akihiko and I stood up at the same time as Yukari came in through the front doors. "Hey every- What are you two doing?!" Akihiko swung the first fist as I quickly weaved under his extended arm and jabbed at his gut. Akihiko took the jab like a champ and retaliated with a cross punch in my chest.

"Ugh…" That was a clean hit and it hurt a lot. I recoiled from the hit and started to pick up forward momentum for a pounce. "Are you trying to end up back in the hospital?!" Yukari's worries were in vain, I was too in the heat of the moment with Akihiko. I tackled him down to the floor. "I'm… Not… Hnng, gonna lose!" Akihiko put me in a choke hold as I held onto him trying to break free. "Boys will be boys." Mitsuru looked down from her book with a condescending look. Yukari sighed as she watched me lose horribly. "Dammit… Uncle!" Akihiko let go and I fell to the floor gasping for breath. "If you lose to me when I'm injured than you need to train more!" Akihiko stood over me triumphantly and went back to the couch where his gloves lay waiting to be polished. I flipped over to my back and sighed. I had lost this fight, but not the war. Yukari approached my defeated person and extended her hand.

"Come on, get up. We don't want you to get a cold now." I looked up at Yukari and gripped her hand with my own as she pulled me up. I looked over at Akihiko "Don't think this is the last time… I will rise… Like a phoenix!" I felt that this rivalry of strength would be laughably one sided until I trained more. "Minato, don't you think you've held onto Yukari's hand long enough?" Mitsuru began to giggle at Akihiko's observation. I looked over at Yukari and saw that I was still holding onto her hand. Her face was a light shade of red and I felt a fever coming on. "S-sorry!" I quickly let go of her hand and took a step back stumbling over myself and falling over on the couch Mitsuru was sitting on. I looked up and saw Mitsuru looking directly down on me with a flustered expression. My head was lying on her lap. Shocked I rolled off and landed back on the hard floor. I quickly stood up and ran up the stairs to the second floor resting area, too embarrassed to stay there any longer. I sighed as I reached the safety of the rest area. "Man… I'm thirsty…" I looked over at the vending machine and browsed the selection of drinks. After a while of contemplating I heard footsteps come up the stairs. "So… That happened." I knew it was Yukari just by her voice.

"I was getting a drink, that whole...Ordeal… made me thirsty. Do you want something?" I put in 120 yen and pressed the button for Cielo Mist. Before I knew it Yukari came over and swiped the can from me. "Thanks!" I looked over at her with a face of pure sorrow. "H-how cruel…" She pulled the tab on the soda and began to drink right in front of me. I put more money into the machine and this time got a mad bull, I felt like I was going to need the caffeine to keep myself awake to catch up on my studies. "It wasn't easy on me either you know? Akihiko and Mitsuru are going to tease me about this for a long time…" I sighed as I cracked open the extremely caffeinated drink. "I need to study, so I'll see you later…" I started to head over to my room for the first time in a while. "If you don't mind… Do you want company?" I turned to face Yukari who had her hands behind her back and smiling at me. "U-uh, sure."

_Minato and Yukari spent the rest of the night getting to know each other better more than they spent studying._


	7. The Study Session

**Chapter 5.5:The Study Session**

_Minato went to his room to gather his books and things as Yukari went to do the same to help him study._

"A study session with Yukari huh…" I looked around my room for my books but it was a complete mess, I didn't know where anything was. "Good thing Yukari isn't coming in here to help me study…" I heard knocking on the door then a voice. "Do you mind if we study in your room?" I frantically looked around at the dumpster that was my room. I couldn't turn that offer down! But my room was a mess. "U-uh, Sure just give me a second." I ran like lightning around the room picking up all that I didn't want to be seen. I was amazed at how fast I managed to hide any unwanted items from the room. "Alright, come in!" Yukari walked in with a few books and assorted school things. She was wearing a pink button up and pink pajama pants. "Is this some sort of sleep over?" Yukari's face seemed to turn a little red as she set all her things onto the floor and sat down. "Well if it was, then you'd be in your pajamas too!" she looked at me intently as if she wanted me to get changed. I sighed, opened the closet and discreetly pulled out my pajamas so she wouldn't see my embarrassing jack frost pajamas until they were on me.

I walked out of the room and slunk up against the wall. "She's going to laugh so hard…" I decided that regardless what I thought, there was only one way I was going back in that room, and it involved wearing my Jack frost pajamas. I rushed to the bathroom trying to avoid anyone in the dorm being up especially at such a late hour. I walked into the bathroom and began to change. This was my last chance to opt out. As I thought that I realized that I had already put on the Jack Frost hat and sighed. "Minato, you do know it's past curfew, correct?" I gasped in response. Why was Mitsuru out there right now? "Sorry Mitsuru, I'll head to bed immediately!" I waited there and was hoping that I'd hear her footsteps head anywhere besides where she was now. "How long are you going to wait there Minato?" I felt a deep mental sigh coming on as I knew had to go to out the door. I opened the door and felt the awkward air and suppressed laughter. "Hello there Jac- I mean Minato." Mitsuru held her hand in front of her face and chuckled lightly. I felt so flustered that I just ran up the stairs and didn't look back. Flying past the hallway between me and dignity I bust through my door and shut it with my back. Looking around I didn't see Yukari anywhere, did I take too long changing? Something about the room changed… In fact, it looked cleaner than I had left it.

"There you are, now we can- Oh my god." Yukari was crawling out from under my bed and she gazed at me with amazement. She got off the floor and to her knees and giggled. "These are my pajamas…" I felt feverish and just wanted to disappear. Yukari stood up and approached me. "You look cute!" She stood in front of me, tugging at the points of my jack frost hat. Her eyes were looking up at the points she was tugging at and she stood at a slight tip-toe. "So why were you under my bed?" I was wondering since I walked in. Yukari looked as though she was about to say something before a bunch of loud footsteps came from the hallway. Yukari nimbly went underneath my bed as the door was nearly broken open by a serious looking Mitsuru. "Where is she?" Mitsuru was exerting an oppressive force upon me as if to fear me into telling her what she wanted. Akihiko opened his door and came down the hall to see what was going on. "Minato, what in the hell are you wearing?!" Akihiko burst out into laughter and Mitsuru got a snicker out of it as well. "This more than makes up for your little transgression from earlier." Mitsuru lightened up a little but still seemed intent on the matter at hand. The light conversation ended and the tense aura returned as Akihiko stood awkwardly in the hall. "Why don't we leave the man and his Jack Frost pajamas alone for the night."

My pride was shot down, but I was saved from being horrifically lectured about girls and boys needing to be separate. Mitsuru simply smiled and nodded as she slowly shut the door and left me to my own. Sighing in relief I fell back onto my bed and stared at the ceiling. Suddenly Yukari's face appeared in my vision as she leaned over me. "I'm glad, I'm not the only one who gets teased by Mitsuru and Akihiko." I sat up shocked looking at her smile. "I forgot you were here…" She looked around as if to ensure no one was watching and pulled her hands from the usual behind her back position to the front and held a magazine in my view. The moment I read the title I just wanted to die. "Penthouse huh? looks interesting mind if I take a peek inside?" I stared at Yukari and she looked back almost as if oblivious at my obvious embarrassment. "D-don't open it!" reaching my hand over to grasp the adult magazine I missed and instead fell hopelessly forward on top of the shocked Yukari. After a thud I pulled the hat off of my head as the points fell over my eyes blocking my vision. Yukari lie under me and it seemed as though she hadn't recovered from the fall yet. Her eyes opened and met mine and I felt like something clicked in my head to do something really stupid.

"Yukari…" I let gravity take course as I began to bring my face closer to her waiting lips. Was she really going to let me do this? "What's going on here?" Shocked I looked up to see Mitsuru standing in the doorway again exerting that same authoritative force. Yukari pushed me off of her and stood up facing Mitsuru. "It's not what you think!" I was lying on the ground like usual looking up at the flustered Yukari and the furious looking Mitsuru. Yukari pointed at me and I looked in my hand seeing the adult magazine in my hands. "T-this isn't mine I swear! I'm holding it for Junpei!" Yukari looked at me with a serious face and stamped her foot shouting "Pervert!" before storming off probably back into her room. Mitsuru watched as Yukari fled the scene and proceeded to glare at me "You had better apologize for what you've done." As she walked away and sat up. Was this really my fault? I sighed as I picked up all the leftover school supplies Yukari left.

"Yukari's going to kill me…" I held my head down as I walked through the dorm and approached Yukari's room. "Hey Yukari… I just wanted to give you back your stuff…" The door opened slightly. Pushing slowly so as to prolong the time I had before my immediate end. "You can just set it on the desk." Yukari stood in front of me and to my surprise she wasn't angry looking. I set the stuff on her desk and began to take a look around as I made my way out the door. Her room was a bright pink and everything looked incredibly feminine, there were posters lining the wall and shelves of handbags. A small coffee table lay in the center of the room with a pillow on each side acting as seats. I was met with a familiar sight however, My headphones and MP3 player were set on her dresser. "So, that's where these went!" I grabbed them and saw that the battery was dead. "Y-yeah… I used them for a while, it helped me block out the gossipers for a while…" I turned to her and her head was looking down at the ground. "Well, I'm glad that they helped. You can hold onto them if you want." Yukari looked up with a bright face "Maybe I will, for a little longer at least."

As I was about to leave the room I heard Yukari's voice from behind me "I hope that book really is for Junpei and don't try funny stuff like that again, otherwise it's off with your head!" I turned around to see the expression on Yukari's face to tell if she was serious, but I was quickly met with a swift and painful smack to the face. Yukari was smiling as I held my hand over the cheek she smacked. "R-right, sorry…" I quickly bolted out of the room and made my way back to the sanctuary of my room as fast as I could. Jumping on the bed and letting out a sigh of relief, "Today wasn't as bad as I thought." I held my hand over where she had smacked me and slowly drifted off to blissful sleep.

_The next morning Minato and Yukari went to school as normal, although there was a slightly tense air between them and it kept them from talking the whole train ride over._

**Saturday, April 18 2008**

"Thanks Minato, you really saved my ass this time." Junpei quickly swiped the adult magazine from my hand and slipped it into his bag. I felt my dignity come back as the magazine left my hold and sight. "You have no idea, all the trouble I went through to cover you Junpei. You owe me." Junpei's face was in shock as he heard what I said. "Did Yukari see 'you know what'?" I was about to reply when Yukari marched in and barged into our conversation. "So it was you!" Yukari held her finger at Junpei in contempt. I backed up from the whole situation to see how it would pan out. "It's because of you all that weird stuff happened between me and Minato!" Junpei had a shocked face as he heard those words and stumbled out a few in edge wise "W-w-weird stuff?! between you and Minato?! I thought you said that and I quote 'I would never go out with a loser like him!' end quote!" I felt a sharp sting to the ego as I heard these words. "I-I… Ugh, you pervert!" Yukari pulled the magazine out of Junpei's bag and tossed it to the floor as she turned to face me as if to offer an explanation. Instead she just grabbed her bag and marched out of the room. "H-hey, wait!" I followed her in hopes of getting an explanation, but she had my headphones on and it seemed she didn't hear me. "Ouch…" I felt another low blow to the ego as Junpei set his hand on my shoulder to console me.


	8. A New Challenge

**Chapter 6: A New Challenge**

_The school day progressed as Minato slept through his first class and studied and through the rest. After school Mitsuru told him to return to the dorm as soon as he could._

"I've never really been up here…" I looked around the third floor, it seemed pretty bare besides the normal rest area and a set of double doors where the usual hallway of doors would be. "Well everyone should be waiting for us behind those doors." Yukari was accompanying me to whatever Mitsuru wanted with us. As we pushed through the doors Mitsuru and the Director stopped what they were conversing about and greeted us. "Where is Akihiko?" Yukari looked around the room confusingly. "Is he not here? Me and Minato came here alone." Mitsuru faced the wondering Ikutsuki and gave him a serious look as she said "Akihiko is bringing another that needs to be here." Ikutsuki nodded and he looked at Yukari "May I speak to you for a moment outside of the room?" Yukari didn't seem to bothered by the idea and simply nodded as she stepped out of the room. The room had a large couch fit for 3 or so and a few stools as well as a single seater chair circling a table. I sat on one of the stools across from Mitsuru and sat in silence. "So… How's it going Mitsuru?" She always seemed to have this aura of authority around her, it really made talking to her nearly impossible. "I won't say anything about last night, but you should really take care of the things you do underneath my nose." I felt a knot in my chest tightening as the embarrassment rose from deep inside. "It's not what you think really! She was just helping me study was all…" Mitsuru grinned as she knew she had me pinned "Studying anatomy?" I knew now that if my face wasn't red before it was blood red now. Mitsuru sat there with her hand covering her mouth as she laughed at my reaction.

* * *

The door opened and the director came in first "Now then let's get down to business." Yukari and Akihiko came promptly behind him and lagging behind was a familiar face. Everyone sat down and Yukari held her head low as she sat next to Mitsuru. She sighed as she raised her hand to introduce the new face. "Junpei is going to be living in this dorm from now on…" Junpei sat next to me and held the tip of his cap as he whispered to me "Now I can be in the know all the time" he had a mischievous grin on his face. The director cleared his throat which pulled the attention of the room. "Now then, would you believe me if I said that a day consists of more than 24 hours?"

A tense aura fell upon us all and Junpei looks thoroughly confused. "Well that wouldn't make sense…" Mitsuru stared at Junpei making him lurch backwards slightly. "You've already experienced it though, all the lights in the city shut off, machinery stops working, and coffins line the streets…" I remembered the first night that I came here and my MP3 mysteriously died only to turn on again later. Junpei stood up quickly and said in a serious tone "I know what you're talking about… I went to the convenience store and everything shut off and these creepy slimy things were crawling all over." Akihiko sat Junpei down and looked at him having a smile "Yeah and you were bawling your eyes out at the curb." Junpei shot a glare at Akihiko and whispered "We were supposed to not tell that to everyone!" A laugh was shared around the room as Junpei pulled down on his cap hiding his embarrassment. "Ahem, now then. With you all, minus Akihiko." Akihiko grunted in discontent swinging his injured arm around.

"We can begin the exploration of Tartarus." Junpei flickered the lights a little and made ghost noises giving Yukari and Mitsuru a slight scare. Mitsuru stood up and mumbled something before the room got cold and all of a sudden Junpei was frozen in place, trapped inside of an ice block. "Let's go to the school." Mitsuru walked past a melting Junpei. "Why the school? I've had enough of that place for one day" I said as I walked past Junpei tapping on him and seeing the ice crack. "what the hell…" I thought to myself

_**The group thawed out Junpei and gathered their equipment of choice as well as their evokers and walked to the school **_

"Achoo!"Junpei sniffled breaking the small talk apart. "What did you do to him Mitsuru?" I asked as she brushed her hair to the side. "You should know what it was by now Arisato." I thought about what it could be. I looked towards Yukari who was facing the school looking at the moon above us. "It's the power of persona…" Yukari said as I approached her from behind. "The being that saved us from those amalgamations of darkness…" I looked down and thought back to that night. "Orpheus…" Yukari turned towards me and nodded. Junpei joined in on the conversation. "So how was it…? Summoning your persona I mean." I looked towards Junpei and shrugged slightly. "It… felt draining, but that's because I had to protect Yukari from danger." Junpei looked at Yukari who pulled out her cell phone and looked at it. "11:59…." She whispered to herself. I looked around to see Akihiko and Mitsuru following suit. I looked at Junpei who looked as confused as I was.

"What are we-" My sentence was cut off as the lighting shifted from the somber glow of the moon into an eerie green light. Water on the ground changed into blood as Junpei lept from the small puddle he stood in. The ground started shaking fiercely as I stood my ground. "What's happening?!" I shouted looking at Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Yukari who stood their ground. Yukari had a little trouble maintaining balance whilst the other two stood solidly. Junpei fell to the ground as the ground stopped shaking. "You okay?" I extended my arm out to help Junpei back to his feet, but froze as I saw the school begin to shake violently and spawn a giant tower. "What the hell..." Junpei stared at the scene with his mouth agape. "School would be a lot more interesting if that's how it looked all the time" I said to myself as we all approached the entrance of the large bell tower.

Walking in past the door was not the normal school entrance as to be expected. The room was tall and round, pillars lined the walls and a stairway stood before us. I looked around inquisitively as I asked "What is this place?" I stood before a grandfather clock that was oddly placed in the corner. "This is Tartarus." Yukari's voice echoed creepily throughout the room. Mitsuru looked at me as I inspected the golden clock. "Why does our school turn into this massive tower? Do other buildings change too?" Junpei looked at our redheaded senior as he asked the question. She simply shook her head and added "Not to our knowledge" Akihiko started jabbing at the air with his good arm and said "this is where we'll be exploring now that we have a full team." Mitsuru turned to him and said in a curt tone "You are not to explore until your injuries have healed."

Akihiko looked down at the floor in disappointment. Mitsuru looked back at us "you three will be going in there tonight." I looked at Junpei who looked at Yukari who looked at me. We all looked back at our seniors. "Now we need to designate a team leader for this exploration." Junpei jumped up and raised his hand. "Pick me! Pick me!" I looked over at him and his overflowing energy. Akihiko sighed "Alright, show us what you got Iori." Junpei stood in front of us and saluted "give it your all men." I saluted back playing along "Yes, sir!" The seniors and Yukari looked at us as we stood saluting each other. "Let's go dummies." Yukari began walking up the steps as Junpei and I followed suit. "Iori, Arisato! Before you go you will need these."

Mitsuru threw a case up to us and Junpei caught it with a little trouble. "Damn Senpai, what's in this case?" He opened it up and inside were two guns and red armbands with S.E.E.S written on them. Under them was a long katana which Junpei took out with excitement "You'll need the means to protect yourself when you get inside, The beings there will not play nice." Junpei nodded at the words and signalled us to continue.

_**The giant clock at the top of the stairs awaited the students as they pushed their way through entering Thebel the first block of Tartarus**_

Looking around I saw that the layout was very different from the entrance floor. It looked like a maze. Long thick hallways and big square rooms. "Alright soldiers, keep your eyes open." Junpei began to lead us down the never-ending hallway. "It's so quiet..." Yukari made the remark as she looked around seeing nothing in sight. "Too quiet..." Junpei looked in the opposite direction. I lowered my hand from the hilt of my blade as they stood looking around, I decided I'd look up. The ceiling seemed pretty far off. A sudden static filled the air as our radio turned on. "Iori can you hear me?" Mitsuru's voice echoed through the hall as Junpei answered. "Loud and clear, over" Yukari looked at him with a face of disappointment. Mitsuru began running Junpei through radio check and battle strategies. I looked over at Yukari who was holding a simple practice bow in her hands, but something was off. "Are you... shaking?" Yukari looked at me with a face of surprise "N-no! I'm just…" Yukari looked down at the floor at my remark. "H-hey, it's okay! I'm actually pretty nervous too..." a noise echoed through the hall as we all stood in the same position for a time.

"What was that?" Junpei looked down all the lengthy twisting hallways as a resounding echo of chains filled the air. "Iori, take everyone and move to the next floor this floor seems empty." Mitsuru's voice echoed through the radio's that the team had. "You heard her, let's split up and find the stairs in this maze." Looking at the intersection of hallways the teenagers split up each heading a separate direction. Yukari cautiously walked forward into a large room that seemed all too empty. She let out a sigh of relief as she held the radio up to her face. "North hallway is a dead end. What about on your side Minato?" Minato waltzed down the east hallway as the radio echoed Yukari calling his name. "A few small rooms, it still hasn't shown any signs of ending. Junpei?" Junpei was skipping lively steps going down the west hallway as he heard his name called on the radio. "That's team leader to you recru-" Junpei's voice cut as he tripped on the stairs that seemed to lead straight into the ceiling with no signs of stopping.

"Found 'em..." Junpei groaned as he picked himself up from the first few steps. Minato turned back to head back to the intersection and go down Junpei's path. He was walking at a leisurely pace until the silent air was suddenly shifted as gunshots roared throughout the halls. "Iori! Takeba is in danger!" Shifting from his brisk walk into a full sprint Minato ran towards the last known location of his endangered classmate. Running towards the intersection Minato and Junpei met up and turned to the north hallway but paused as a horrifying scream rang from the north hall. Minato couldn't contain his worry as he shouted out "Yukari!" He sprang forward as Junpei followed. What they saw next was a sight that frightened them. From the first floor Mitsuru knew what stood before them. "It's the reaper..." she said in distraught.

Yukari was on her knees looking up at the reaper. The reaper looked at Minato and Junpei as they entered the scene with it's one revealed eye. It's gaze pierced through their souls. "Alright leader... what's the plan?" Minato looked at Junpei who was sweating profusely. "Guess, i'll take lead for now. Grab Yukari and run for the stairs. Don't stop for anything." Minato unsheathed his sword. Secretly this monster that stood in front of him scared him shitless, but he couldn't tell Junpei that. "Let's go!" Minato charged forward dashing a few meters followed by Junpei before being stopped by a powerful roar that shook the halls of tartarus. "Grab her and let's go!" Junpei quickly grabbed Yukari by the hand and picked her up to start running. The reaper saw the ants trying to run and replied "None can escape death."

He pointed one of his two long barreled revolvers at the scurrying Yukari and Junpei. Pulling the trigger a loud bang ensued as a large glacier like object flew through the hall. The group of teenagers ran as fast as they could to escape, but the glacier was simply too fast. Minato lead the group, but he soon realized the harsh reality that the glacier would crush them. They were so close to turning the corner too. A flash of memories flew through his mind of when his parents died. He felt that feeling again. That loss, he didn't want it to happen again. "Call on me hee ho..." a voice spoke in Minato's head. "JACK FROST" Minato turned around quickly as he pressed his evoker against his temple and pulled the trigger. A small snowman like figure appeared and stopped the glacier, shattering it causing shards of ice to fly everywhere.

Junpei and Yukari rapidly turned the corner and called out to Minato "C'mon! We're almost there!" As Minato rounded the corner a bullet flew by, followed by a loud cracking sound. The bullet missed but the sheer rotation speed of it caused sharp winds that cut straight through Minato's uniform and carved into the skin on his arm. Minato stumbled as blood gushed out of his arm and onto the floor. Yukari looked back at Minato who continued to sprint down the straightaway that led to the stairs while holding his arm to restrain the blood flow. She hated how useless she was. Submitting to the fear that the reaper cast over her. "The stairs are coming up! We're almost outta here!" Junpei shouted as he jumped on the first step, turned around, and gestured for the others to run up the stairs. "DEATH ENSNARES ALL!" A dreaded voice filled the hall as the reaper called out to the teenagers.

The reaper swiftly rounded the corner and shot his gun which released three masses of purple light that spun in the air approaching the ground. "Run up the stairs that attack will kill you all!" Mitsuru called into the radio hoping to reach her underclassmen in time. Junpei and Yukari were over a dozen steps ahead of Minato who was getting slightly dizzy from the blood loss. A blinding light filled the entire floor as the teenagers narrowly entered the next floor. Minato looked back at the large explosion as he tumbled over the border between the next floor and the last. The floor assimilated the empty space and sealed the stairway off, but the force of the explosion shook the entire tower. "Junpei, come in!" Mitsuru called into the radio the silence was too much for her to be calm. Were they okay or...

"We made it out fine, but… Minato looks really hurt!" Mitsuru silently summoned her persona and was shone a map of the floor her underclassmen were on inside of her mind. "There is a machine that emits a green light down the hall and to the right, when you find it step into it." The team ran except Minato who stumbled from time to time and was supporting himself on the wall. After rounding the corner Yukari looked at the glowing machine and looked back to make sure everyone was accounted for. "Where's Minato?" Yukari asked as she pulled on Junpei's sleeve to get his attention.

Junpei ran back and turned the corner and saw Minato on the ground with a small puddle of blood around him and a trail behind him. "Yukari! Help me out with him!" Yukari dashed over to Junpei who was crouched over Minato trying to wake him up. She rushed to their side and saw Minato wasn't responding to anything. "Dammit... his pulse is slow... but with all this blood..." Yukari started to stand up slowly as Junpei watched wondering what she was doing. Thoughts raced through her mind as she reached for her evoker. Thoughts of only a week or so before when Minato had saved her, thoughts of their prank on him, finally thoughts of her dad. "I won't lose anyone else!" Yukari put her evoker against her forehead and pulled the trigger for the first time. A girl sitting on a metallic bull head floated behind Yukari. A bright light engulfed Minato as his wound began to close up and he began to groan.

"What happened?" Minato began to stand up but slipped on his own blood. Junpei caught his head before it landed on the tiles and helped him up afterwards. Yukari turned the corner and stepped into the green light. "Hey Yukari, wait up!" She disappeared from sight without a word, her escape covered by a bright light produced from the machine. Minato sighed "She's been ignoring me more often... help me get home Junpei, I lost a lot of blood." Junpei lifted Minato up and helped him into the device. "She was worried about you and besides, she did save your life." A bright green light flashed as the two disappeared.

I mentally sighed as Junpei and I made it back to the first floor but only Mitsuru and Akihiko were there. Mitsuru looked at us and sighed, but she smiled. "Please allow me to take Arisato home on my bike." Junpei looked over at me with apologetic eyes as he let me stand on my own. I waved to him and Akihiko as they walked out of tartarus. Mitsuru gestured to follow her as she walked towards a fully geared out motorcycle. "Woah, is that yours?" She smiled and nodded at my remark "It's infused with the power of persona so it can work during the dark hour" I began to walk over, but stumbled and fell onto the ground. My head was aching and my vision blurred the blood loss took a toll on me, but at least I no longer have a gash in my arm. "ugh…" I sat up and Mitsuru extended her arm to help me up. "Thanks…"

I grabbed her hand and she lifted me further up with my arm over her shoulder. We slowly walked to the motorcycle, I felt weak because I couldn't carry myself. "Here sit on the back." Mitsuru guided me to the back half of the seat and helped me place myself on it. "What about you?" I gave Mitsuru a questioning look as she looked at me similarly. "The front" Mitsuru carefully sat down ensuring her skirt didn't grant any extra sight for me. "Hold on tight" The bike's wheels made a resounding screeching sound as it reached high speeds in very little time. I grabbed onto Mitsuru's hips tightly and held my head pressed against her back afraid that if I let go I may just fall off. Mitsuru jumped slightly at my actions but settled back into driving. "I need to talk to you… About what you did back there" I put my head up weakly and felt a little embarrassed.

"S-sorry, I didn't mean to just grab on so suddenly!" letting go of her hips I felt a slight loss of balance and immediately gripped back on tighter than before. This time Mitsuru swerved the motorcycle in response, but quickly balanced it out. I held on for dear life "Sorry!" Mitsuru simply sighed in reply. "Getting down to buisness, you summoned another Persona out there and saved your team." I thought back to when I heard the other voice in my head. "You know more about Persona than I do, is that not normal?" We rode by all the homes and turned the corner to the street with the dorm. As we turned the corner I saw Yukari walking with her arms crossed in front of her and head hanging low. I honestly felt bad for making her worry.

"I'll talk to you more in private another time. Please, go inside and get some rest." The bike came to a stop in front of the dorm. I stepped off and tried to hold my balance. "Thanks, will do…" Mitsuru's bike began to rev as she took off. I sighed as I approached the doors to the dorm. Taking an extremely slow stride Yukari caught up to me and stopped after she opened the double doors to the dorms. "Thanks Yukari. I'm sorry for worrying you." Yukari and I stood there in silence for a while. The wind rustling the leaves of the bushes on either side of the entrance was the only noise to be heard for at least 5 minutes. "I should be thanking you in the end." Yukari turned to face me, her eyes were slightly swollen but she held a smile on her face. "I was able to help you… and now I have the power to help more people." I gave her a weak smile "I'm glad I could help." I heard chatter coming from behind.

"Well, I better get moving. I don't wanna get hassled by those two…" As I began to walk past Yukari I heard her say something. "What was that? I didn't catch that." but as I turned to face her I saw that she had went back outside. Shrugging I went back to walking up the stairs. Using the wall to balance myself I walked up the stairs and into the second floor hallway. I heard Junpei and Akihiko racing up the stairs pushing and shoving at each other. Slowly opening the door to my room I felt a light breeze blow past me. "Great I left my window open huh?" Going over to shut it. Nights were cold, but for some reason or another I felt comfortable in a freezing room. As I shut the window and saw my reflection it was accompanied by a small snowman, the very same who saved our lives today. "Call on me again, hee ho. Until then, hee, farewell." I turned around and saw no one, only darkness. "Jack Frost… huh…" I went to my bed and laid down not bothering to change. "Thank goodness I can rest easy tomorrow…"

_Unfortunately for him he would realize what happens when you miss so much school._


End file.
